Solono — Restaurant in Kyoto

We were in the first hour of our trip in Kyoto and stumbled upon this small establishment which was 500m from our hotel.

We ordered the caprese salad & the burrata salad for me and my husband and a margarita pizza for two small kids.

My husband ordered a ginger ale just to prep himself of the gruelling day with the two young ones :-)

The bill arrive and it was 8800¥!!

What’s surprised us the most is that they expected us to order an”drink” for the kids or else we were to pay ¥550 per person. (Each drink there was ¥550)

We’re are from Singapore so an 85sgd bill was okay to pay for IF we had enjoyed the food and was worth the money.

The margarita pizza was terrible where the cheese slide off the runny sauce even before it went into the kids mouth.

The issue isn’t the quality- well what kinda person expects great Italian food in Japan- land of amazing Raman, curry, sushi right?

The problem was the attitude of the two ppl who ran the place who made a big scene when we happened to question why we shud be paying ¥550 for a 5 yr old and an 8 yr old who didn’t wanna drink his artificial canned juice or coffee or his alcohol!!!

A tip to travellers- do not go to...

If you are a foreigner, absolutely do not come to eat here. They have 2 different sets of menu, one for locals, and one for foreigners, and you can guess that the foreigner’s menu is way too overpriced. We were a group of 5 people, the moment we stepped inside the restaurant, the staffs were so unwelcoming, they sent us upstairs which was more like a storage room than a restaurant’s dinner room. That aside, i was reading the reviews on google, some Italians claimed that their pizzas were close to the real deal. That was far from true. The pizza was so bad, it was so soggy, and tasted very bland, everyone was forced to order a drink, else you have to pay ¥550 per person. When we went downstairs to pay, we could totally see that the locals were eating different food, and that their pizzas looked really decent. I dont know why they would charge us so much, and yet still give us the worst service and food that have. We were all so polite, and didn’t do anything to offend them. Just avoid this place if you are a foreigner. Eating at a convenience store would offer you a better and...

We noticed that the prices listed on the menu outside didn't include tax, and there was a note stating that ordering a drink was required to avoid a 550 yen cover fee. It's important to note that they only accept cash as payment.

For our meal, we ordered the Italian potato salad, prosciutto pizza, and arrabiata pasta. We found all the dishes to be quite delicious, especially the prosciutto pizza which was sliced at the moment. The crust had a satisfying crispness, but the inner part of the dough seemed slightly undercooked. It's possible that this was the chef's intention, but it didn't particularly suit our taste.

The main reason for our average rating stems from the owner's demeanor. They appeared unfriendly and didn't seem particularly eager to serve us, even though it was still early (around 20:00) and there was ample time before the last order. Improving the friendliness and attentiveness towards customers could greatly enhance the...